Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-09-03
80 -as- III
4 HISTORY OF ADVENTURE
BY Il. RIDER H%AGGARD.

lamp 10 one oil the small passages that |
had noticed opening out of the central
save. This we followed for about five
PAGES, when it suddenly widened out into
esnnau chamber, about eight feet square
n hewn cut vi the living rock. On one
6de n this chamber was q etone slab, about
three feet from the ground. and running
its entire length, like n hunk in a cabin,
n on this he indicated | was to sleep.
There was no window or air-hole to the
chamber, and no furniture, and on looking
at it more closely | came 10 the disturbing
conclusion lin which, rs | afterward dis
covered, | was quite right that it had orig
inally served for IL sepulcher for the dead
rather than a sleeping place for the living,
the slab being designed to receive the
corpse OF the departed. The thought made
me shudder IN spite of myself; but seeing
that / must sleep somewhere, l got over
the feeling rs best | might. and returned
to the cavern to get my blanket, which had
been brought up from the boat with the
other things. There ] met job, who, hay
ing been inducted to a similar apartment,
had fatty declined to sleep in it, saving
that the look Of the place gave him the
horrors, and that he might as well be dead
and buried in his grandfather's brick grave
at once and expressed his determination
OF sleeping Within IL | would allow him,
which, Of course, ! was only too glad TODD.
The night passed very comfortably on
the whole. say on the whole, for person.
ally ! went through a most horrible night
mare Of being buried alive, induced, no
doubt, by the sepuichral nature of my sur
roundings. At dawn we were aroused by
a larrc trumpeting sound, produced, rs we
afteIward discovered, by a young ANA.
haggcr blowing through q hole bored in
its side into u followed elephant tusk,
which was kept for the purpose.
Taking Che hint, we got up, and went
down 10 the stream to wash, after which
the morning meal was served. At break.
young, advanced and publicly kissed Job.
He sprupg to his feet, and pushed tho
woman, a buxom party about thirty, from
him.
We'll, I never" he rasrod; whcreupon
she embraced him agaiu.
"Bc of with YOU! Get away, yoU MINK
he shouted, Wa lng the wooden spoon with
which he TGs eating his breakfast up and
down before the lady's face. Beg your
pardon, gcnilomen. am suro ! haven't
encouraged her Oh Lord! she's coming
for me again. Hold her. Mr.. Holly; please
hold her! | caN't stand it; | can't indeed.
This has never happened TO me before, gem
tlemen. never! There's nothing against
my character and here he broke of, and
ran as hard as he could go down the cave;
and for once ! saw the Amahagger laugh.
As for tie Wonlan however, she did not
laugh, On the contrary, She seemed to
brisllc with fury, which the mOckcry of
the Other women about only served 90 in
tensify. She stood there literally snarling
II shaking witt Indignation; and seeing
her, wished Jobs scruples had been at
Jericho-formiug Il shrewd guess that his
admirable behavior had endangered our
throats. Nor, as the sequel shows, was /
wrong.
The lady having retrcatcd, job returned
in a great state OF nervousness, and keep
ing his weather eye fixed upon every wom-
an who came near him. | took an oppor-
tunity to explain to our hosts that Job was
n married man, and had had very unhappy
experiences in his domestic relations,
which accounted for his presence here, and
his terror aS the sight OF II woman; but my
remarks were received in grim silence, it
being evident that our retainerS behavior
was considered rs q slight TO the house
hold" mt large, although the women, after
the manner of their more civilized sisters,
made rAerry at the rebuff Of their compan-
ion.
At first we were much puzzled as to the
ORIGIN and constitution of this extraordln-
AIRY race, points upon which they were
%sinrularIy uncommunicative. AS the time
went en-for the next four days passed
without any striking event-we learned
something from Leo's lady-friend Ustane,
who, by the way, stuck TO that young gen
tlcman like his own shadow. AS to origin,
they had none, at least SO far as she was
aware. There were, however, she III
formed us, mounds of masonry n many
pillars near the place where She lived,
which was called kor, and which the wise
said had once been houses wherein men
lived, and it was suggested that they were
descended from these men. No one, how
ever. dared 20 near these great ruins, be
cause they were haunted; they only looked
on them from u distance. Other similar
ruins were 70 be seen, she had heard. III
yarioxs parts Of the country, that is, whor.
ever one Of the mountains rose above the
Level Of the swamp. Also the caves IL
Niiiti tl{'4 AA*IAt ll4tfi pAAti So
The rocks by men, perhaps the same who
built the cities. They themselves had no
writtea laws, only custom, which was,
however. quite a. binding as law. If any
man offended against the custom, he was
put to death by order Of the Father of the
.'household." asked how he was put 10
death, and she only smiled, and said that !
might SEQ one day soon.
They had a queen, however. She was
their queen, but she was very rarely seen,
perhalS once in two or three years, when
she came forth TO pass sentence on some
offenders. and when seen was Mufiied up
in a big cloak, SO that nobody could look
upon her face. Those VINO waited upon
her were deaf and dumb, and therefore
could tell M tales, but it was reported that
she was lovely as no other woman was
lovely, or ever had been. 1T was rumored
also that she was immortal, and had power
over all things, but she, Ustane, could say
nothing Of all hat. What she believed
was that the queen chose n husband from
time tn time, and rs soon as a female child
was born, this husband, who was never
again seen, was put to death. Then the
female child grew up, and took the place
of the queen when its mother died and had
been buried in the great caves. But oi
these matters non could speak for certain,
Only She was obeyed~ throughout the length
- t.o,lth ar tba land and tn nunstior